Find a therapist to help with ADHD

Three models define ADHD—clinical, biological, and social—but they are not competing truths.

ADHD traits may be advantageous in one environment and detrimental in another.

The most useful ADHD model depends on the person's needs at a particular moment.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is commonly defined by difficulties maintaining attention or with goal-directed behavior. While ADHD is commonly recognized as a disability, new ideas have started to emerge as to the origins and the nature of ADHD. While they all have some merit, they come from inherently different places.

The clinical view sees ADHD as a condition to be treated. Clinicians aim to identify what is wrong so they can treat it as efficiently as possible. The clinical view relies on the DSM diagnostic criteria to evaluate patients' treatment needs. One of the diagnostic criteria is that ADHD must significantly impair life to be diagnosed.

This means that the clinical model inherently sees ADHD as a deficit, or a condition, because the way it approaches it is with a treatment in mind. This can create issues, though, where individuals who appear "functional" are missed and don't receive the help they need because of compensatory mechanisms. This is where research clashes with diagnosis.

In the biological........

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